On June 9, after a long, toxic and eventful campaign in the run-up to the European elections, we saw a governing party receive the largest loss in its majority in Maltese electoral history, and, by the end of the week, it would lose council majorities across the north and centre of our islands.
With the weight of responsibility resting on his shoulders, we were told by our prime minister that he would listen to the people, that he was humbled by the result, and that he was ready to take action to change.
Robert Abela told Times of Malta he intended to respond to the electorate’s message with “more work, dedication, humility and a stronger finger on the pulse”.
Unfortunately, it is obvious from the actions of the government over the last few months that it has no intention whatsoever of acting upon what was said. While this is not the first time that Abela said one thing and then did the opposite, what he said was significant and widely reported on.
These past few months, and, indeed, over the last 11 years, we have consistently witnessed occasions in which either gross incompetence, negligence or tolerance of corruption has taken place. It is no surprise that voters sent the government a clear message on June 8.
One of the government’s first big headaches this summer was Johann Grech. The film commissioner treats taxpayers with disdain: he spent half a million euros on a short film in which he starred. This glaring example of abusing public funds would have served as an ideal opportunity for the government to display its ‘new humble approach’.
However, while the entire country seethed at the behaviour of the film commissioner, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo simply announced that he was “assured… it would not happen again” and, thus, deemed the matter closed. So much for that, then.
Weeks after the election, the country once again had to deal with power cuts, similar to the ones that took place last year, even though Energy Minister Miriam Dalli had promised these would not happen again. Not even parliament or village feasts were spared cuts in the electricity supply. Once again, residents were faced with power cuts during heatwaves in summer and were obviously not pleased at the fact that Dalli and Abela were nowhere to be seen.
A month after the elections, Labour MEPs Daniel Attard and Alex Agius Saliba apparently took joy in stabbing the prime minister in the back when they announced they would not vote in favour of Roberta Metsola as president of the European Parliament. In one fell swoop, the decade-long attack of the Labour Party on Nationalist MEPs for “working against Malta” collapsed in an instant, and the Maltese were keen to point out this double standard.
Our sea was once one of the cleanest in the world, and we were proud of our Blue Flag beaches. Unfortunately, this summer, sewage has polluted our sea, with Balluta, Birżebbuġa, Xgħajra and others bearing the brunt of a country creaking under the strain of overdemand, brought about by an unsustainable economic model.
We need a government that is there not for the benefit of a small clique of the elite inner circle but for everyone- Alexander Jacobsen
Obviously, Labour hasn’t been helped by the embarrassing situation regarding Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri, Konrad Mizzi, Chris Fearne and Edward Scicluna – the latter ‘suspended’ himself as Central Bank governor but continues to receive a half-pay salary of €69,000 – leading to more anger among taxpayers.
‘Identitàgate’ has also proved to be a great humiliation for the government and has put another minister, Byron Camilleri, under the spotlight as the number of scandals in the country continues to grow.
People rightfully feel that not even their own home is theirs as, sometimes, people are registered illegally as residing at their property.
The Labour Party’s attempt at refreshing its image by changing some of its top officials has been a mess. A real change is only usually feasible when in opposition. The most embarrassing news to emerge from this is that party CEO Randolph Debattista has been appointed Malta’s ambassador in Geneva after his removal from the Labour machine. This is possibly one of the worst ever abuses of power in the history of the ministry for foreign affairs and people are rightfully furious about this.
Is this the humility we were promised by Abela? Is this the “stronger finger on the pulse”?
It is obvious, months later, that while the mood in the country continues to change, the government has not only ignored this but actively worked against it.
The fact remains that the only way out of this situation is by removing this corrupt leviathan of a government and replacing it with one that intends to take its duties seriously and engages in a true dialogue with all sectors of society.
We need a government that is there not for the benefit of a small clique of the elite inner circle but for everyone.
The people are crying out for change.
Alexander Jacobsen is a Nationalist Party youth delegate.